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Volgograd
thumbVolgograd, formerly called Tsaritsyn (1589–1925) and Stalingrad (1925-1961), is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city became famous for its stubborn resistance, as well as the extensive physical damage and death toll it suffered during the Battle of Stalingrad against German forces in World War II. It is also well-known for being the place where the Wehrmacht suffered a devastating battle. Joseph Stalin had the "city of the Tsars" renamed for himself after coming to power. As part of de-Stalinisation, the city was renamed Volgograd after the Volga River. But since February 2013, the city's name is to be commemorated as Stalingrad six days each year to acknowledge the great battle. Literary comment In most Harry Turtledove timelines that involve this city, it is still Stalingrad (or in ''Joe Steele's'' ironic WWII scenario, "Trotskygrad"), and is referenced in connection to the great siege. In a few other timelines it is still Tsaritsyn. The name Volgograd rarely appears in Turtledove's works. Volgograd in Days of Infamy The city of Stalingrad was the site of a ferocious battle between the European Axis and the Soviet Union between late 1942 and early 1943. The battle ended in victory for the Soviets and they dealt the Germans a devastating defeat when they encircled the city and trapped their forces within. This battle caused the tide of war to turn on the Eastern Front and then turn into a bloody stalemate. Volgograd in The Disunited States of America The city of Tsaritsyn was host to an intense and bloody battle in the 1940s, during the War of the Three Emperors, that leveled the whole city.The Disunited States of America, p. 242. Volgograd in ''Joe Steele'' The city of Trotskygrad, named after Soviet leader Leon Trotsky, was the site of a bloody battle that resulted in Germany's eventual defeat in World War II.''Joe Steele'', pgs. 266-269, HC. Volgograd in Southern Victory During the Russian Civil War, the city of Tsaritsyn became the headquarters of the Socialist general known as the "Man of Steel", and his second-in-command, "the Hammer" in 1925.The Center Cannot Hold, pg. 92, HC. Volgograd in Supervolcano Rob Ferguson thought that one city's multiple names - Tsaritsyn, Stalingrad, Volgograd - might make for a good song for Squirt Frog and the Evolving Tadpoles. The idea came to Ferguson when he thought about how Saigon had gone to Ho Chi Minh City while contemplating the excellent Vietnamese food at the greasy spoon next door.Eruption, p. 33. Volgograd in ''The Two Georges'' Several weeks before they were to be married, Kathleen Flannery broke off her engagement to Kyril Lozovsky, the assistant commercial secretary at the Russian ministry in Victoria, when she learned that he was already engaged to another woman in Tsaritsyn.''The Two Georges'', pg. 59, MPB. Volgograd in Worldwar In 1944, while Lt. Mutt Daniels was discussing the Battle of Chicago with General George Patton, the General was comparing the advantages the Race had over the US Army which was negated when they charged recklessly into the city, to the problems the Germans suffered in Russia when they invaded that nation in 1941. Patton asked Daniels a hypothetical question: if the Race hadn't come and the Germans broke through the Russian Army and reached city of Stalingrad, "would they have made the same mistake the Race made in Chicago?" Both men agreed the Germans, known for their tactical prowess, wouldn't have been that stupid. References Category:Russian Cities Category:Battles Category:Days of Infamy Category:Joe Steele Category:Southern Victory Category:The Disunited States of America Category:Worldwar Category:The Two Georges Category:Supervolcano